D&D 5E A brief rant about Rime of the Frost Maiden, farming, logistics, and ecology

[TheSword]

Here's what it says:

However, the sacrifices only occur once a month on the night of the new moon. So they're not nightly occurrences. And I don't think it would be much of a stretch to think that some people don't survive the night.

Yes if indoors. Though I expect it’s miserable and probably fatal to some elderly or vulnerable. Though that is part of Aurils mantra.

I fully intent to have a likeable NPC frozen in one of the towns when the sacrifice of warmth occurs and an adherent of Auril comments “look how beautiful she is, frozen forever, never decaying or withering into infirmity. Safe in Auril’s embrace!”

They sacrifice food as well, leaving meat out that is taken in the night by beasts serving Auril like winter wolves.

 

[TheSword]

I wonder how the "dressing right" meshes with plate mail and gloves with enough feeling to swing a sword

But I did find it interesting that some sites list temperatures a lot colder than I would have expected (wind chill of -85F is apparently too cold to make it worth the risk of going out; with exposed skin apparently freezing in two minutes at -67F). But one of my great aunts would tell us they'd close school in northern Wisconsin when they got to -28F and the kids would go out and play -- (if true) I doubt they had arctic quality snowgear but made it.

Does part of the sacrifice section you mentioned above mention going overnight with out fire as a sacrifice? That one feels like a bad plan unless she's answering prayers.

I will definitely be describing skin torn from fingers by cold metal.

The biggest question I foresee... Grant cold resistance or not. There are spell obvs that provide it for a short time but in giving PCs cold resistance items and abilities do you undermine the story.

 

[Flamestrike]

I love how people are complaining about the 'unrealistic' effects of a magical winter caused by an Ice Godeess flying a giant Roc using magic in a land full of Druids, Wizards, Clerics, sentient animals, flying magical cities with undead spellcasters, a nearby Dwarven colony and a crashed alien spaceship in a world influenced by literal Deities.

'Man that winter is so unrealistic'

The irony is delicious.

 

[Don Durito]

Yeah, I feel the same way when the GM tells me my fighter can't can't jump 6 miles in a bound or reattach someone's head after they're decapitated.

You've already accepted that there's magic in the world I argue, so, therefore, you have no grounds to object to anything unrealistic.

But he's so unreasonable.

 

[TheSword]

Yeah, I feel the same way when the GM tells me my fighter can't can't jump 6 miles in a bound or reattach someone's head after their decpatitated.

You've already accepted that there's magic in the world I argue, so, therefore, you have no grounds to object anything unrealistic.

But he's so unreasonable.

You can, it’s called fly and resurrection. Can you not cast those spells yet?

 

[TheSword]

Grab a scroll or two and a level of sorcerer or cleric and have at it.

 

[Flamestrike]

Yeah, I feel the same way when the GM tells me my fighter can't can't jump 6 miles in a bound or reattach someone's head after they're decapitated.

You've already accepted that there's magic in the world I argue, so, therefore, you have no grounds to object anything unrealistic.

But he's so unreasonable.

Silvanus and Malar might be exerting their divine will indirectly to help keep plants and animals alive. Auril does so directly (in contravention of the tablets of fate and Ao's decree). Those gods (and others) might be subtly influencing things against her.

The Dwarves can provide food via trade.

A heavy dependence has likely formed around whaling for blubber for fires and meat. Their migrations are unlikely to be affected.

As also mentioned, there is 1 spellcaster per 100 people capable of casting 3rd level spells. Those spells can create fire and food. Its perfectly reasonable to assume the local churches have been busy providing alms to the poor in exchange for converts.

Those are reasons off the top of my head and they all work.

Its hilarious that people are complaining about this.

 

[MarkB]

Here's what it says:

However, the sacrifices only occur once a month on the night of the new moon. So they're not nightly occurrences. And I don't think it would be much of a stretch to think that some people don't survive the night.

Yeah, that's pretty much the point when it comes to the sacrifices. It's not that the three towns that are making the humanoid sacrifices are more evil, it's that they're the only towns large enough to be able to support that level of sacrifice and survive.

The smaller towns are still probably losing people every few months due to the sacrifices of food or warmth, so the survival odds in those towns aren't any better than in the ones that are directly killing people.

 

[Burnside]

Well it’s clearly detailed in the book in the section Sacrifices to Auril, that all the ten towns follow in one form or another. It’s the same section as the human sacrifices.

But it’s not clear at all that Auril cares or is “sparing” them because of it - you added that part because the writers didn’t bother to explore it.

In fact, the whole idea of the sacrifices would seem to be a very interesting and dramatic story hook, but in fact the adventure almost completely ignores them and there is almost no story or plot involving them.

The three largest settlements in the Ten Towns have adopted human sacrifice as a matter of public policy, and the writers did nothing with the implications of that. It’s basically a line of text in each town.

“Yeah, but a good DM can fix it” is besides the point if the discussion is about what the designers actually wrote.

 

[TheSword]

But it’s not clear at all that Auril cares or is “sparing” them because of it - you added that part because the writers didn’t bother to explore it.

In fact, the whole idea of the sacrifices would seem to be a very interesting and dramatic story hook, but in fact the adventure almost completely ignores them and there is almost no story or plot involving them.

The three largest settlements in the Ten Towns have adopted human sacrifice as a matter of public policy, and the writers did nothing with the implications of that. It’s basically a line of text in each town.

“Yeah, but a good DM can fix it” is besides the point if the discussion is about what the designers actually wrote.

Well I didn’t raise that another poster did and I just made it clear that there were alternative sacrifices than humans.

Incidentally I think there are references to the sacrifices. There are monsters that are the risen souls of those sacrificed. Some of the apex predators benefit from the sacrifices. Lastly the sacrifices form a general backdrop to the campaign. I know my PCs will want to intervene with human sacrifices, and thwart them. Particularly so when the Murders start. This will vary in every party I would think and enough NPCs and circumstances have been detailed that I can reason the outcome of their interactions.

No campaign book can provide everything needed to DM a sandbox adventure like this. When you look at what WOC have done it is very reminiscent of Curse of Strahd, their best received Campaign to date.

New monsters and NPCs; a well fleshed out setting; 20+ smaller encounter locations and quests; 3 major locations quests; Avatars of a god and advice for interacting; New rules for character secrets; new magic items. It’s a pretty awesome combo.